Red Wine Can Increase Good Cholesterol And Decrease Bad Cholesterol
If you need to get your cholesterol levels under control, red wine may be able to help. It contains resveratrol, a polyphenol found in grapes that has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol . Oxidized LDL particles are known to play a key role in the formation of arterial plaques and the development of atherosclerosis.
And thats not all: Drinking two glasses of red wine per day can also increase good HDL cholesterol. In a study of 45 postmenopausal women with high cholesterol, participants saw an 8 percent decrease in LDL cholesterol and a 17 percent increase in HDL cholesterol after drinking 13.5 ounces of red wine a day for six weeks.
Red Wine Alcohol And Blood Pressure In Healthy Males
One study that sheds light on the paradox involved 25 middle-aged men who were slightly overweight but otherwise healthy, with normal blood pressures, cholesterol and glucose levels. Each volunteer was asked to drink either half a bottle of red wine , or 375ml de-alcoholized red wine, or 375ml water with a light meal on three occasions, to compare the effects.
Their blood pressures were recorded over the following 24 hour periods with an ambulatory monitor. This showed their blood pressure fell by an average of 4.7/3.9 mmHg during the first four hours after drinking red wine, compared with the alcohol-free wine or water. During the following 24 hours after drinking red wine, their blood pressures were also lower, overall, by an average of 2.1/1.4 mmHg. However, during the last 4 hours, their systolic blood pressure increased significantly by 1.8 mmHg.
This initial fall and subsequent rise in blood pressure appeared to be linked with their levels of a powerful blood vessel constrictor called 20-HETE . Levels of 20-HETE fell in the 2 hours after drinking all the beverages but was then relatively higher 24 hours after drinking red wine. As this substance causes arteries to constrict, it could help to explain why long-term drinking is associated with an elevated blood pressure.
However, this study was in people with normal blood pressure control, and those with high blood pressure appear to respond differently.
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What Causes Elevated Cholesterol
As far as diet, saturated fat is the single most influential factor affecting on cholesterol levels. A diet high in saturated fat has a potent influence on raising low-density lipoprotein, a harmful form of cholesterol.
Lifestyle choices can affect your cholesterol levels by influencing how your body breaks down cholesterol. Smoking for example, is well-known to increase cholesterol and another blood fat called triglyceride. Alcohol intake also influences cholesterol levels.
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How Does Red Wine Help Protect The Heart
The benefits of red wine come from polyphenols naturally occurring compounds that have antioxidant properties. Polyphenols like resveratrol and procyanidins have been linked to a variety of health benefits, including cardiovascular health.
How exactly do these compounds protect the heart?
Studies suggest that these polyphenols:
- Boost good cholesterol
- Lower bad cholesterol
- Reduce blood clotting
So, wines with high levels of resveratrol and procyanidins are considered the best for your heart.
Beer Wine And Alcohol
Your chances of high blood pressure go up when you drink too much alcohol. Men should stick with no more than two drinks a day. Women should keep it at one. One drink looks like 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, 1½ ounces of 80-proof spirits, or 1 ounce of 100-proof spirits. Red wine has been linked to heart health, but you should still limit the amount you drink.
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It Can Lead To Nausea
It’s no surprise to anyone that when you drink too much, throwing up is a likely consequence. Vomiting is one of the body’s ways of getting rid of toxins, especially excess toxins from drinking too much alcohol. This can happen with every type of alcoholic beverage, including wine.
While nausea and vomiting are uncomfortable and painful for many people, persistent vomiting can also lead to serious health problems, including inflaming the stomach and esophagus, acid reflux, and tearing the esophageal lining.
The Best Red Wine For Health Purposes
Now that you know how they work, which ones are the right choice to give you the health effects youre looking for?In general red wines that have health benefits usually have been fermented a lot longer. Fermentation lowers the amount of sugar in the wine but allows it to retain fruity or aromatic flavors.Red wines made from thick-skinned grapes are also relatively healthy as they contain tannins that offer you a number of additional health benefits. These red wines dont taste as sweet as others, but thats a small price to pay for such powerful health benefits.
Not sure which wine to choose? Try one of these nine options.
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Is Beer Bad For Cholesterol
What about your choice of beverage? When it comes to alcohol and cholesterol, is beer worse than wine?
Ultimately, its the quantity and frequency of drinking that has the biggest impact on your healthincluding your cholesterol. Beer contains both alcohol and carbohydrates, so too much beer will certainly increase the presence of triglycerides in your body and increase your risk of fatty liver.
A few small studies have suggested that drinking beer in moderation is good for your cholesterol levels8. The barley in beer, like the grapes used to make wine, does contain heart-healthy polyphenols. But more research is needed, and once again youre probably better off eating straight whole grains than drinking beer to reduce your cholesterol.
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Can Drinking Red Wine Stop High Blood Pressure
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Its fairly well-known that drinking a moderate amount of red wine can offer numerous health benefits. One study showed that the compounds in red wine protect your body from oxidation, which prevents certain types of cancer and offers protect from depression. Even earlier studies showed that this very popular beverage, which is made from grapes of darker colors, can even protect us from heart disease and improve our overall cardiovascular health.
If that isnt enough reason to enjoy some wine with dinner, a new study has given us yet another reason to drink red wine. This study, recently published in the European Journal of Nutrition, found that the red grapes, from which wine gets its start, can lower blood pressure. This suggests that red wine is a great way to treat one of Western worlds biggest killers hypertension, or high blood pressure. Find out 8 things to eat to naturally lower blood pressure.
In this study, 40 male rats were fed either a high fructose diet or a high fructose diet that was supplemented with different doses of red grape berry cells. The amounts were 200, 400, and 800mg/kg of body weight per day, over a 5 week period. The rats blood pressure, plasma triglycerides, adiponectin, and insulin levels were measured at the beginning of the trial then again after 3 weeks and then again after 5 weeks. The red grape cells effects on vasodilation were also monitored.
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Yes Red Wine Can Be Heart Healthy
The link between red wine and a healthy heart may be due to the high level of micronutrients, called polyphenols, found in the skin and seeds of grapes.
During the production process, red wine is fermented with the grape skins and seeds for a longer period of time than white wine, which means the polyphenols are much more concentrated. For example, a glass of red wine contains around 10 times more polyphenols than a glass of white wine.
These polyphenols especially a polyphenol called resveratrol have been shown to protect and support heart health.
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Alcohol Boosts Good Cholesterol
A few studies have found that people who drink alcohol in moderation have lower rates of heart disease, and might even live longer than those who abstain. Alcohol has also been tied to a lower risk of blood clots and decreased levels of inflammation markers.
Many believe that the main benefit of alcohol comes from its ability to raise HDL cholesterol levels .
In particular, red wine might offer the greatest benefit for lowering heart disease risk and death because it contains higher levels of natural plant chemicals — such as resveratrol — that have antioxidant properties and might protect artery walls.
Myth: Red Wine Lowers Blood Pressure
Fact: Theres no definitive evidence that red wine lowers blood pressure. In fact, alcohol actually raises blood pressure. But since alcohol tends to relax people, it may lower your blood pressure slightly although only for a short period of time, and it wont help with chronic hypertension. Talk to your doctor about other ways you can lower your blood pressure, like exercising moderately and eating a diet rich in healthy fats.
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Your Body Needs Just Enough Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that travels through your blood. At persistently elevated levels, its linked to an increased risk in heart disease. But cholesterol isnt a bad guy on its own. In fact, your body needs cholesterol to function properly.
The problem is, your body needs only a small amount of it, and your liver produces enough to meet your bodys needs.
Wine Has Been Shown To Be Safe Forand Beneficial Todiabetics
A recent study measured the blood sugar levels of more than 200 people living with type 2 diabetes. The subjects drank either wine or mineral water daily with a dinner based on the Mediterranean diet. For those who metabolize alcohol slowly, the participants who drank red or white wine saw beneficial effects on blood sugar compared to those who drank mineral water. They also experienced a significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose and an improved measure of insulin resistance.
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Flavonoids And Antioxidants In Wine
Perhaps the secret to wines supposed cardiovascular benefits lies in polyphenols known as flavonoids, such as the catchily-named quercetin and catechin. As with resveratrol, red trumps white for flavonoids.
These flavonoids have been shown to protect LDL against copper ion-induced oxidation.
While LDL is considered the bad cholesterol, there is evidence suggesting that LDL cholesterol is at its worst when it is oxidized. When oxidized, LDL cholesterol has been linked to the acceleration of atherosclerosis and a subsequent increase in ones risk of coronary artery disease.
However, while oxidative stress an imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants, in favor of the former is an important contributory factor to the atherogenic process, studies relating to antioxidant supplements and antioxidant-rich diets have been wildly inconsistent. On top of that, promising results from in vitro experiments and animal tests have not always been reproduced in human in vivo tests.
This is likely because the human body is extremely efficient at metabolizing these polyphenols, so only a small amount ever fulfils its potential as an antioxidant.
A rather anticlimactic conclusion we can draw from all of this is that there are many unknown factors regarding the human processes surrounding oxidisation and its subsequent impact on atherosclerosis.
However, discovering quite why red wine seems to have a more profound effect than other alcoholic drinks may take a while yet.
Understanding Cholesterol Functioning And Alcohol
To understand how alcohol affects cholesterol levels, its important to know more about cholesterol. Cholesterol is a fatty, wax-like substance found in all cells of ourbody. We need cholesterol because it helps with important bodily functions like creating hormones and vitamin D.
However, when cholesterol levels are too high, it can build up in blood vessels in the form of plaque, narrowing or even blocking blood vessels over time. Narrow blood vessels prevent oxygenated blood from reaching important organs like the brain and heart and may lead to coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke.
Cholesterol is carried in the blood by the lipoproteins, high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein .
- High-density lipoprotein : this is known as good cholesterol because it picks up excess cholesterol from the body and takes it to the liver where it can be removed from the body.
- Low-density lipoprotein : this is known as bad cholesterol because it can lead to a build-up of plaques in blood vessels. Low-density lipoprotein transports cholesterol throughout the body.
If you have ever had your cholesterol checked, the report likely included triglycerides levels as well. Triglycerides are another type of fat that can build up in blood vessels causing plaque. Like cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides also increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
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Myth: Red Wine Lowers Cholesterol
Fact: Keeping your cholesterol within a healthy range is important if you want to reduce your risk of heart disease.
According to a study published in Clinical Nutrition, red wine increases good cholesterol. On the flip side, nonalcoholic red wine decreases levels of bad cholesterol. LDL levels stayed the same in people who drank the alcoholic red wine, so keep this in mind when you order a glass with dinner.
Risks Of Drinking Alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol can actually increase your risk for heart disease and stroke, raise blood pressure, contribute to obesity, and increase the levels of fats called triglycerides in the blood.
Excessive drinking also can lead to heart muscle disease , irregular heartbeat , and stroke. Eventually, heavy alcohol use can leave the heart too weak to pump efficiently, a condition called congestive heart failure.
Because drinking alcohol also has other downsides, including increased risk of some cancers, cirrhosis of the liver, and an increased risk of accidents, the American Heart Association does not recommend that you start drinking wine or any other alcoholic beverages specifically to lower your cholesterol or improve your heart health. Instead, the organization advises watching your weight, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly to keep your cholesterol levels in check.
If you do plan to drink, check with your doctor first, and drink in moderation — . Some people, especially pregnant women, and those who take certain medicines regularly, should avoid alcohol entirely.
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Brachial Artery Reactivity Protocol
Brachial artery ultrasound studies were performed to assess endothelial function by measuring flow-mediated dilation induced by reactive hyperemia as previously described and according to current guidelines. Studies were performed after the patient had rested for 10 minutes in a temperature-controlled room using a 7.5-MHz linear array vascular ultrasound transducer and an APOGEE 800 plus ATL ultrasound system .
The left brachial artery was imaged 2 to 15 cm above the elbow and scanned in longitudinal section with the focus zone set to the depth of the near wall. During image acquisition, anatomic landmarks such as fascial planes were noted to help record the same image of the artery throughout the study. Vessel diameter was measured using specific software developed at the Heart Institute that uses a semiautomatic approach to measure artery diameter based on an active contour technique supplemented by multiresolution analysis. The blinded operator selected a region of interest in 6 series of brachial artery images obtained from B-mode ultrasound. The distance between the near and far wall media-adventitia during diastole was obtained for all images, and the average was calculated.
Endothelium-independent vasodilation was assessed by administration of sublingual isosorbide dinitrate and calculated in an analogous fashion. The average of two measurements was taken.
